WEEK #5 - LEG DROP

This is personally in my top 2 of favorite core exercises of all time.  No other exercise can cover your core as well as this one - physiologically, mentally and physically from your sternum to your pelvic/pubic bone - this one ROCKS!  I can’t put it any other way.

Enjoy!

If you haven’t already seen this on YouTube, here is week #3’s core exercise of the week!  This one helps give the “buns of steel” look, as well as tones the thighs, hips and tummy - all at the same time.

Enjoy! 

This week is week #2 in my weekly core exercise series. 
Here is your next exercise - the stability ball sit up/crunch, as well as an extra video to answer some of your questions you have had about how often to do these exercises to see the best results.

Enjoy!

EXTRA TIPS VIDEO

Let me know if you have any questions by emailing or calling me at 949-940-0399.

Here’s to your health-filled transformational success!

When I started running over a decade ago, I used running as cross training for my college basketball and soccer careers.  I had no running coach or any running mentors to guide me.  I fell into a pattern of running hard and training all out 100% of the time.  I had no idea the importance of wearing proper shoes, cross training, giving my body time for rest or any of the smart ways to train.

Needless to say, it only took me a couple years of overtraining (training too hard for too long) that caused me to fall into four years of being injured, forcing me to back off running for a period of time. 

What does training hard look like?

For me, it included things such as:

• not having a running coach/mentor
• not cross training or exercising other muscles with non-impact strengthening exercises
• not having proper shoes
• not resting enough
• not having a training schedule designed for me and my goals
• not eating the effective nutrition to fuel my body
• not being proactive with preventative health methods (ie chiropractic care, massage)
• failing to create a yearlong plan for myself (a.k.a. planning to fail)

I had to give up dreams and goals that I had aspired for simply because I had become imbalanced in my running.  Due to my own belief in that old philosophy “No pain, no gain” and pushing myself for so long, I literally woke up every morning in pain due to my ineffective training choices and had to accept the fact that I could not train as I wanted to.

However, as in every season of adversity, there lied that opportunity for me to make some life changing discoveries that I still benefit from to this day.

I knew I had to find different ways to train and healthier philosophies to embrace.  I discovered that training “smart”  versus training “hard” was a much better way to lead my running/triathlon career.

What does training smart look like?

Training smart includes balanced approaches of training for my body and mind, such as:

• cross training 3-4 times per week
• have the proper shoes for your feet - get a runner’s gait analysis
• resting one day completely (NO EXERCISE other than walking)
• core strengthening exercises a minimum of 3 times per week (can include yoga/pilates type classes)
• listen to my body and stop serious training if the pain level in any part of my body is above a 5 on the pain scale of 0-10 (with zero being pain free and 10 being excruciating/debilitating pain)
• training using the heart rate monitor method of monitoring my heart rate and not going above the anaerobic threshhold more than once per week - staying in the proper zone for me at all times
• having a running coach or exercise mentor on some level at all times during training season (ie personal trainer, coach, class instructor)
• seeing a chiropractor and massage therapist regularly (weekly or monthly)
• setting goals for particular races throughout the year and committing myself to a training schedule that is realistic for where my body/mind are at at that time
• scheduling an off-season time during the year - whether it be two weeks or two months - where I give my brain and body a period of serious rest/time off
• eating proper nutrition

Keep in mind, this list of approaches took me nearly 10 years to complete (not to mention a few injuries along the way to help me learn these lessons).  And your list may look quite different.  My hope is that my list will inspire your list of training smart methods. 

The most important thing to remember is that running/training of any kind can be a life long journey only if you train smart.  Training, just as in life, is not meant to be hard - it is meant to be completed with wise choices that make the journey all worth while.

And that is what life is all about - the journey.

That old saying “It’s just like riding a bike” came back to me recently as I got back on my road bike after several months off during my pregnancy.

The doctor had given me the go ahead four weeks after my baby Henry was born and I was super excited to get back on the bike again.

And that old adage rang true.  After dusting off all the cobwebs and pumping up the tires, I got back on the bike.  Surprisingly, getting back on my roadbike - one that has served me well over thousands of miles, several races ranging from Ironman Triathlons to 100-mile century bikerides and has traveled the world with me - was very easy.  I rode for 60 minutes that first day, over varying terrain of flat and hilly roads, with a great sense of ease.  My body responded well.  I almost felt as if I had never left the bike.  Other than the saddle sores (a cyclist’s favorite pain) I endured these past several weeks being back on the bike and in spin classes again, this experience has been liberating to say the least.  Swimming came back just as easily, as if I had not stopped.  Other than regaining some cardio and strengthening my heart rate, my muscle memory bounced back quickly with two out of my three triathlon disciplines.

I am sure you can relate.  Has there been anything in your life lately that you have made the return to?  Something that you love and just had to give up for a bit, whether it be for work, family, health or simply the craziness of life?  There is nothing better than familiarity and getting back into the groove of mind, body and Spirit - truly feeling connected with yourself and fulfilled.

However, not everything can be related to that saying.  Not everything is as easy for the body and mind to return to.  Not everything is like riding that bike.  Sometimes I get to be a beginner again and start all over now that my baby is getting older and my body is attempting to return to it’s triathlete status.

Case in point, I started running just two weeks after the biking/swimming routine began again.  I had high expectations that my return to running would be just as successful as the other two sports.  I mean, after all, my first love is running.  It should be easier than “riding a bike”, right? 
My body has been doing it the longest these past 15 years or so.  I was running 5ks, half-and full-marathons long before I donned that biking helmet or swim cap.

Yet, I was humbled those first two miles on the beach trail.  Actually, I was humbled in the first few steps of that beach trail.

I couldn’t even make it one full mile without huffing and puffing.  My legs weren’t excited at all about the pounding I was exerting upon them by shuffling forward with each step.  My heart rate went through the roof.  My side had an ache I hadn’t experienced in YEARS.  I call it the “beginner’s stitch”.  You’ve probably experienced it yourself.  That ache just under the ribs that makes it hard to breathe and caused me to walk a few minutes just to be able to lightly run/jog again.

I walked/jogged those first two miles as if I had never run a marathon or completed an Ironman Triathlon.  My return to running was anything but familiar.  Both my mind and body groaned at the end.  My face was red from the exertion and my heart rate took longer than expected to recover. 

As I leaned over to stretch my legs, they, too, groaned with disgust. 
“Why do you love this sport so much?”,  they seemed to ask.

Have you ever felt that way?  You decided to return to something you once experienced before with ease - whether it be a career, a relationship, a sport - and yet you found yourself struggling to remember what it was about that experience before that was so wonderful or so easy.  You realized that you would have to work at it again, maybe not as a true beginner as before, yet you weren’t going to get the opportunity to ease back into it without making a serious, concerted effort.  You had a new beginning.  A new opportunity to start over and experience yourself in a different way.

Already, in the past several runs I’ve logged, I learned three new things about myself in this return to my favorite sport that I wanted to share. 

1.  Nothing that I love (ie running) comes back easy once I take time away from it, therefore I don’t want to take things for granted as I am experiencing them.  I enjoy being a new beginner again.
2.  I’ve got to work at it every day in some capacity (no matter what) in order to get stronger and healthier in order to get the results I want.
3.  No matter what happens, I get to enjoy the journey and learn more about myself with every step, no matter how painful, challenging or difficult it might be - there will be rewards along the way in mind, body and Spirit.  

Ironically, these same three things can be applied to my life as well as running - whether it be relationships, my career, my new role as a mom - or anything that I greet that has challenges within it.  And with these three things I can definitely see growth and results in my life in a more meaningful way.

And for that I am grateful that not everything in life is as easy to return to like riding a bike.

Dear friends,

Around the time of the training/running that you find yourself increasing your mileage or time training, many of you may note new aches and pains.
Also, many of you may come down with colds, flu and other sicknesses that can inhibit your training and sideline you for a week.

Why is that?

Increased mileage and heartier workouts (ie intervals, tempo runs combined with longer slow distance mileage) can do some damage to not only your body’s skeletal system, it can also interfere with your healthy immune system.  This is quite normal.

What can you do to protect yourself against getting sick or run down?

1.  Get plenty of rest - more than you usually do.  Don’t stay up too late or go out every night.  Burning the candle at both ends doesn’t work when training at this level.
2.  Lighten up your load at work and/or at home (if possible).  I know family life and work commitments always come first, however, during this training time, if you can ask for support from those that love you to help you lighten the load just for the next few weeks, go for it!  Just like a pregnant woman in her third tri-mester (yes, I’m talking about me), you deserve some pampering and delegation of your normal duties.
3.  Eat well - proper nutrition goes a loooong way.  No doubt your nutritional and hydration needs are increasing as your mileage increases.  Talk to Melissa Mathes, my local nutrition guru, if you want to devise a better nutrition action plan.  Or check in with a referred nutritionist that knows about running and proper nutrition.
4.  Take probiotics and fish oil/omegas.  Probiotics fends off those nasty fungus and bacteria that are wanting to attack your body by strengthening your immune system.  Fish oil/omega 3’s are great brain “food” and this supplementation can keep your mind and heart healthy while keeping your cardio system fully functioning. 
5.  Take a day off or cross train if you feel lethargic or you have a day where you know you are doing too much.  Powering through or pushing yourself and running anyway is not what I recommend.  Doing it once might work, however, doing it consistently will get you injured, over fatigued and/or sick.  No question.
The “No pain, no gain” hero philosophy doesn’t work well, especially when you get to month 3 and 4 of your training.
6.  Go to a chiropractor and make sure your nervous system and spine are aligned.  Any interference here can cause chemical imbalance and allow for a weaker immune system, leaving you susceptible to illness.
Dr. Amber Voitenko is my number one referral for all types of wellness doc questions and chiropractic support.  She can be reached at 949-285-2976 for a free consultation or your nervous system and spinal alignment.  Or check with your local doctor ASAP.

Here’s to your health and happy training!

Yours in Transformational Success,

Lois Tiedemann Koffi

949-940-0399

Recently, more often than usual, I have been asked the same question about running and injuries that people associate and blame on running.

I have heard this “myth”, as I will call it here, literally hundreds of times ever since I began my running career at age 18.  And it is simply not true.  I thought this was a good time as any to help shed some light on what I believe is the truth (some of you may argue and I would gladly discuss this with you further).

MYTH:  Running is bad for you because it causes injuries, mostly to the knees, hips and feet.

TRUTH:  Running can help your body, which was predisposed for this specific injury you now have, discover the aches and pains.  Running does not cause the injury.  It can help you create balance and better health in your life. 

Just as with any symptom of pain that shows up, your pain in the knee, hip, foot or anywhere else in your body, stems from your basic habits in your life since birth.   Any unattended trauma to your body, an unhealthy ongoing eathing lifestyle, poor posture due to computer work, etc., etc. can all aid and transform your once perfect baby’s body into a doctor’s dream patient!

Case in point for myself.  After running consistently for two years, I found myself injured for over four years with a severe case of plantar fasciitis in both feet (a very rare occurrence, as most people - runners and non-runners - usually only have it in one foot).

Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory condition of the foot caused by excessive wear to the plantar fascia that supports the arches of the foot or by biomechanical faults that cause abnormal pronation of the foot (note that it did not say caused by running).

What I found, after seeing several physical therapists, having cortisone shots in my feet, getting orthodics especially made for my feet, sleeping with boots on my feet, getting weekly or monthly massages, going to yoga class 2-3 times per week (and the list goes on), the running I did actually helped me discover the real cause of my aches and pains.

Due to life events and over the course of time of walking on pavement, wearing shoes that weren’t proper for me, experiencing different traumas to my body over my entire lifetime, not going to a chiropractor regularly and keeping my body in alignment, etc., etc., my body was very, very dysfunctional and way out of whack.  Hence, causing the plantar fasciitis.  It would have happened in this lifetime no matter what I did - running or not. 

Thank God for running, otherwise, I would have never discovered the importance of a fully aligned body and would not have developed a solid core (mid-section), as well as gone to see my chiropractor regularly.  Those have been the keys to my success of having a strong body and a healthy/balanced running career.

Oh yeah, and I have not been injured since 2004, after I found my personal trainer who salvaged what was left of my healthy body and got me back on the roads running, biking and swimming again so I could complete my first Ironman Triathlon in 2005.  I also got rid of my orthodics within that same year.

So, the next time someone tells you that “running is bad for you”.  Just simply smile and tell them that the opposite is true.  In fact, it is what will save your life and lead you to many long years of balance, healthy and a functional/symmetrical body!

The key is to never give up and never go it alone.  Allow a coach, a trainer, a chiropractor or a massage therapist help show you the way to health.  You may even have to go to multiple resources until you find the perfect one for you, just as I did.  And that’s okay.  The long-term benefits of running far outweigh the short-term time you may get to rest and cross train.  If you have the desire to run, keep persevering until you find the true cure/cause of your pain.  Then running will always be there for you, no matter what.

And, if there is anything I can do, let me know!

Yours in Transformational Success,

Lois Tiedemann Koffi

949-940-0399

Here’s to your healthy running career!

Thanks to Ronnie Daniel for contributing this piece this week!

HOLIDAY  EATING TIPS  

1.   Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit.   In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly.   It’s rare.  You cannot find it any other time of year but now.  So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a genuine treat. Enjoy it.  Have one for me. Have two.  It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy.  
Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk.
If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating.
The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s.  
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do.
This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes.
If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin.  Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost.  I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention.  Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

“Life should NOT be a  journey to the grave with the  intention of  arriving  safely in  an attractive and well preserved body, but  rather to skid in   sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly  used up, totally worn  out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”

Have a great holiday season !!!

Got your new year’s resolutions set yet for 2009?

 Want to cross off that marathon distance race on that list?

Or maybe you want to complete a half or full marathon to get healthy or maintain your health?

Or shed those holiday pounds by de-stressing your mind and body?

You have two weeks left to SAVE some $$$ while investing in your health and your future.

December 31st is the dealine to receive the early bird discount for training for the Orange County Avia 2009 Marathon to be held on Sunday, May 3rd.

My coaching team and I will be offering a 16-week training program that provides support, training schedules, freebies, guest speakers on health/fitness and coaching that won’t be found anywhere else in Orange County in achieving a lifelong dream that only 2% of our world’s population completes.

http://www.triathlonbook.com/pdf/MarathonTrainingFlyer

Did you know that:

• marathoners have (on average) a larger net worth and annual income than any other athlete or fit person?
• on average, any runner I have coached sheds 15 pounds and releases 3% body fat in 20 weeks or less?
• half and full marathoners live longer, healthier lives by making running a lifestyle?
• Only 2% of our world’s populations walks or runs (completes) a marathon distance race

I could go on and on about the benefits, however, if you or someone you know wants to experience any of that for themselves, they can sign up via email or mail by December 31st and begin their journey of transformational success on January 10th for 16 life changing weeks!

We take beginners to experienced runners.

Let’s make 2009 your best year ever!

Yours in Transformational Success,

Lois Tiedemann

949-940-0399

“Bid me run and I will strive with things impossible”

-Shakespeare